News
MuseumsWealthy widow in England's biggest witch trial rememberedWitch-huntsHeading to Salem this October? 5 spots with true ghost storiesWitch-huntsScottish council votes to apologise to women persecuted as witches centuries agoStage magicHow Harry Houdini Became the Best Magician of All TimeCharmsThe Horns Hand Gesture: One Sign With Five Very Different MeaningsFestivalsWho Is La Catrina? Meet the Iconic Skeleton of Mexico’s Day of the DeadWitch-huntsSpooky Day Trips in Connecticut: Witchy History for HalloweenCharmsA Jurassic fossil turned talisman in Morocco links science and faithStage magicHarry Houdini returns from the grave in AI-generated Fox Nation series 100 years after his deathWitch-huntsConnecticut's forgotten witch trial pastMuseumsWealthy widow in England's biggest witch trial rememberedWitch-huntsHeading to Salem this October? 5 spots with true ghost storiesWitch-huntsScottish council votes to apologise to women persecuted as witches centuries agoStage magicHow Harry Houdini Became the Best Magician of All TimeCharmsThe Horns Hand Gesture: One Sign With Five Very Different MeaningsFestivalsWho Is La Catrina? Meet the Iconic Skeleton of Mexico’s Day of the DeadWitch-huntsSpooky Day Trips in Connecticut: Witchy History for HalloweenCharmsA Jurassic fossil turned talisman in Morocco links science and faithStage magicHarry Houdini returns from the grave in AI-generated Fox Nation series 100 years after his deathWitch-huntsConnecticut's forgotten witch trial past
EveryJaadu

Magic in Middle East

The evil-eye bead, the djinn, ruqyah and the talisman, Kabbalah and Jewish amulets, and the ancient Babylonian and Persian arts. 175 entries on EveryJaadu so far.

Places of magic

Rome 11Jerusalem 6Meron 5Thebes 3Uruk 3Constantinople 2Damascus 2Giza Plateau 2Mecca 2Paphos 2Persepolis 2Tiberias 2Abu Shudhr 1Ahvaz 1Alaca Höyük 1al-Qurnah 1Amuka 1Andaman Islands 1Arima 1Arslan Tash 1Assur 1Babylon 1Bawit 1Behistun 1Beqaa Valley 1Bern 1Bethlehem 1Bibliothèque nationale de France 1Brisone River 1Carnuntum 1

Rites of the region

Esfand, the wild rue smokeChaharshanbe Suri fire-jumpingThe nazar boncuğu, the blue beadRuqyah recitationKapparotThe red thread and Rachel's tombWriting a Jewish amulet (kame'a)

Countries

🇧🇭 Bahrain🇨🇾 Cyprus 7🇮🇷 Iran 76🇮🇶 Iraq 25🇮🇱 Israel 86🇯🇴 Jordan 5🇱🇧 Lebanon 7🇴🇲 Oman 2🇵🇸 Palestine 10🇶🇦 Qatar🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia 5🇸🇾 Syria 45🇹🇷 Turkey 31🇾🇪 Yemen 10
KindTraditionRiteCharmOracleSubstanceBeingFigureTextIllusionBelief
PurposeProtectionHealingSeeing and foretellingLuck and prosperityLove and attractionCursing and harmCleansing and purificationSpeaking with spirits and the deadChange and initiationBinding and oathsPower and authorityWonder and entertainment
WhoShamansFolk healersPriests and ritual specialistsWitches, sorcerers and cunning folkDiviners and readersMediums and the possessedCeremonial magicians and alchemistsHouseholds and ordinary peopleStage magiciansScholars and sceptics
BeliefHindu and TantricBuddhistJainMuslim and SufiJewishChristianSikhZoroastrianShinto and TaoistIndigenous and shamanicAfrican and Afro-diasporicPagan and NeopaganEsoteric and occultFolk and village customSecular and stageOther traditions
OccasionWeddings and betrothalFestivalsBirth and childhoodDeath and remembranceHarvest, farming and weatherNew yearInitiation and coming of ageIllness and misfortuneJourneys and voyagesEveryday use
StandingLivingRevivedFadingHistoricalLegendaryPerformed
OrderBest knownA to ZNewestLiving first
🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreAlchemy in the medieval Islamic world The study of matter and spirit by scholars in the early Islamic CaliphateTradition · Change and initiation · Power and authority Historical

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

  • Alchemy in the medieval Islamic world: An Islamic artist 739H/1339, probably in Baghdad, Public domain, source

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven entries you may not know, what is on the calendar this week, and one rite drawn step by step.